Runaway Rebels
by HiKari Mokuba's Guardian
Summary: AU:When Seto was sent to the orphanage, there was only one thing on his mind: Freedom. When Seto finally escapes with his brother, there is no turning back. Seto must live a life on a road that never ends until you return home.


_This is dedicated to every kid who every who ever thought that they could run away from their problems. To every kid who thought they could do it on their own. To every kid who wanted to be strong. To every kid who ever wanted to prove themselves to the rest of the world. To every kid that ever ran away. _

_This one's for you._

Chapter 1

A car door slammed. An engine turned on. Two boys stood next to one another. An orphanage was before them.

"Well, looks like everything is in order here." The head manager of the orphanage said, holding a bunch of papers in one hand and shaking the other man's hand. A woman stood beside the manager, a sad look on her face. A look of pity. Seto glared at her. He hated being pitied. "We just couldn't take them in, you know, with everything else going on, we just didn't need kids." The other man, Seto and Mokuba's uncle, said, looking down at Seto and Mokuba.

"That's not true…" the lady said quietly, "That's not true at all."

"Mary, please." The manager said, but was interrupted. "You people just don't care, do you? You don't care at all!" Mary yelled, pointing a finger at their uncle, "You have all the money in the world… you just don't have a heart." She spat. Their uncle scoffed, going from being apologetic to being ticked off. "You have no right to say that. Besides, there's nothing you can do anyway." He turned to Seto and Mokuba. "I guess this is goodbye." Seto didn't say anything, just glared at him, Mokuba gripping his hand tighter. And with that, he turned and left. Never to be seen again.

"Welcome to Domino Orphanage… what was it? Seto and Mokuba?" Mokuba merely nodded, not looking him in the eyes. "Well then, I'm sure you'll find everything you'll need right here. Everyone here believes in kindness, and understanding, so I'm sure it won't be long before you make some new friends." The manager said, giving them a fake smile. Seto saw through it. He saw through it all.

The manager began to walk them through the orphanage, "We serve 3 meals a day, desert after dinner, and have playtime in between. I think you'll find your rooms quite neat. That's because we have a clean-up time after breakfast every morning." The manager stopped and showed them their room, "If you have any questions, you can find me in the office. My name is Richard, and it was nice meeting the both of you." Richard held out his hand to Seto and Mokuba. Seto turned his head, not accepting his false gestures of kindness.

"Well then…" there was a silence, "Mary, why don't you show them to the playground where are the other children are?" Mary nodded slowly, taking them both by the hand and leading them through a maze of hallways and rooms.

"I know you both are going through a hard time, but this really is a great place. And if you have any trouble, any real trouble, you can come to me. Richard doesn't really care about the orphans, but I bet you figured that one out already." She said, looking down at Seto and smiling. Seto's mood began to lighten at that statement.

She opened the sliding glass door revealing a small, but populated, playground. "Feel free to play wherever you want." She said, letting go of their hands. Seto and Mokuba stood in silence staring at the playground blankly. "Nii-sama…" Mokuba said quietly, "Can we go home?" Seto didn't answer, his thoughts wrapped around his own emotions. He placed his hand on Mokuba's head and ruffled his hair. "Everything's gonna be fine Mokuba, I promise."

Mokuba sighed, and walked away towards the sandbox and swing set. Seto felt no desire to play, his eyes were fixed on the fence that surrounded the playground. Seto walked slowly over to the fence, gripping his hand around the bars. He stared off into the distance. What was beyond these fences? Why had he even asked? He had been out there not too long ago. That was until he was put in here. For hours on end, he stood. Watching, waiting.

"Seto… Seto! It's time to come on in, we called you a half hour ago!" Seto snapped out of his thoughts and noticed the sky had become darker and the sun was beginning to set. He turned and headed for the orphanage when he saw a figure still outside, sitting on the swing. He had quickly recognized it was his brother whom sat alone on the swing. "Mokuba?"

Mokuba looked up. "Nii-sama…"

"What are you still doing out here?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, Nii-sama." Seto gave a little smile. "Is something wrong?" Mokuba shrugged. "I dunno, I just don't like this place. I wanna go home. All I could do was remember when Dad was still alive and use to play with us on the playground. I… I…" Tears began to stream down his face. "I miss him, Nii-sama…" Mokuba choked out. Seto placed a hand on Mokuba's shoulder. Mokuba stared up into his brother's face, looking for an answer. But all Seto gave him was a look of reassurance. "Don't worry Mokuba, I have a plan." Mokuba stared at him, trying to figure out what he could've meant.

"Seto! Mokuba! Get in here this instant, your dinner is getting cold!" the cook yelled from the sliding glass door of the orphanage. "Come on, we better go before she blows another fuse." Mokuba nodded and silently followed his brother into the orphanage.

-The Next Day-

The next day had proceeded the same way as the last. They woke up, got dressed, made their beds, ate breakfast, had a school lesson and then went out for recess. As the children frolicked and played on the various slides and swings, one boy remained silent and still. Every recess they had, he stood out there, next to the gate, looking off into the distance. He never played or talked to anyone. He just stared.

"Nii-sama… Nii-sama, do you wanna play with me?" Mokuba asked, standing next to his brother. Seto silently shook his head. "Oh… ok." Mokuba said, walking away in defeat. He knew there was no way of moving Seto from that spot, so he wouldn't try to protest against it. He ran off to play with other boys on the playground as Mary walked over to Seto. "Hey there, Sport." She said with a smile on her face, kneeling down so she was at eye level with him. "Hi." Seto said quietly, not moving his eyes.

"Can I ask you a question, Seto?" Seto removed his eyes from the distance to Mary's face. "Sure."

"Every recess you come out here and stand in the same place, looking out beyond the gate… why? Are you waited for someone?" Seto's eyes shifted back to the distance. "No… I know that no one is coming for me."

"Well, then do you see something out there that interests you? A plane? An animal?"

"Freedom." Mary stared at the boy, giving him a questioned look. "Freedom? But you have freedom. What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." He turned away, giving her a sign meaning he wanted her to leave. Mary sighed and shook her head, standing up right and leaving just as Seto had signaled. Seto went back to his normal position, placing a hand on the bars of the fence. He was going to bust out of there if it was the last thing he did.

Seto silently shook his brother. "Mokuba… Mokuba, wake up…" he whispered, shaking his brother with more force. "Huh? Wha?" Seto placed his hand over his brother's mouth, "Ssshhh… we have to be quiet." Mokuba stared up at his brother, "What's going on, Nii-sama?" Seto didn't answer him, he just signaled him to be silent. Mokuba merely nodded in understanding, although still confused by what was going on.

"You need to get dressed fast."

"Get dressed? Where are we going?"

"I'll explain later, just do as I say." And as his brother had instructed, he got dressed as quickly as he could, then followed his brother silently out of the orphanage. "Nii-sama, we're not allowed to be outside when there's no adult."

"Well, from this moment on, we aren't listening to any rules those people set for us." Seto instructed, leading Mokuba to the gate that he had always stood before during recess every day ever since they had been out in the orphanage.

"What! But we'll get in trouble if we don't."

"No we won't… because we're running away."

"Running away!" Seto placed his hand on Mokuba's mouth once more. Mokuba quickly removed Seto's hand from his mouth. "Nii-sama, we can't run away! Where will we go?"

"Somewhere other than here."

"But Nii-sama, we're only kids!" Seto held one hand on the fence. He looked over his shoulder at his younger brother. "Look Mokuba, you can stay here, and listen to everything this guys tell you, or you can some with me and be free."

"But Nii-sama!"

"No buts… you have to decide." Mokuba was torn. He had never wanted to separate from his brother, but he didn't want to live on his own. He was scared, and afraid. What was he suppose to choose? His brother or safety? He had no chance to give it a lot of thought, because the lights in the orphanage had already come on and someone was calling their names from inside. "Seto! Mokuba!" Mary appeared at the sliding door, looking out at them. "What in the devil's name are you doing! Get back here this instant!" Seto turned to his brother. "What's it gonna be Mokuba? You gotta choose now!" Mokuba looked back and forth from Mary to his brother.

"I can't wait for you any longer Mokuba," Seto said as he began to climb up the fence. "SETO! Get down from there! What do you think you're doing!" Mary yelled, running out onto the playground. Mokuba's heart started pounding in his chest. He didn't know what to decide, Seto was almost to the top of the fence. "Wait!" Mokuba called. Seto stopped and looked down. "I'm coming with you." Seto smiled, "That's what I needed to hear." He held out his hand for Mokuba. Mokuba grabbed it and held on tight as Seto pulled him up and over the fence. Mokuba fell to the ground with a thud, dust floating all around him in the air.

Seto had a more graceful jump, landing on his feet and pulling Mokuba up from the ground. "Come on! We gotta move!"

"SETO! MOKUBA! COME BACK!" They heard Mary scream as she collided with the steel fence. She gripped the bars, staring at them as they ran in the distance. "They're not gonna be able to survive on their own…" Mary whispered to herself as she watched them disappear in the distance. "I have to find them."

**A/N:** And here I shall end my wonderfully short chapter Yes, I know you all probably hate me, but more is quickly on the way. So what will happen next? Will Mokuba and Seto be able to survive the world on their own? R&R!


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